Eastside

In one way or another, I have always lived east of the Mississippi. I'm proud of that fact. For no reason really. But all of my biking thus far has also been east of the Mississippi I could be proud of that, but that would be pointless, as I am now no longer east of the great river. I have crossed the ragging torrents of the Mississippi, and shan’t see her waters again until I cross back to the eastern shores when riding in the south. For now, lets give some props to the east

I left Duluth following it's beautiful riverside bike trail that lead me to the trail head of the Willard Munger State Trail. This trail, as it currently stands, is 67 miles of off road paved bike path that lead me to the casino town of Hinckley. While the day was car free, it was full of something. Obsessive heat. Only a week ago it was 40 degrees and I was praying for warm weather. Well, I got it on a 90 degree scorching day that left me dripping. Guzzling water the whole day, I camped for my first time in a non-warmshower house. They let me in, let me shower, and provided me with needed rest and hospitality above and beyond.

The next day, while another 16 miles of paved off road bike path greeted me, so did an even hotter day with temps near the 100's. All my water tanks were full up, and I drank them through before calling it a short day and ending at the William O’Brien State Park along the St. Croix river. Took a dip in the lake, took a shower, took a walk, and took respite.

I then followed various bike paths into the twin cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The Cities have been making amazing strides in regards to bicycle infrastructure, as I saw in practice all over the state with 57 paved rail trails. Leading into St. Paul was the Gateway trail. From that's end, I freewheeled down to the Mississippi River Trail, part of which is a 10 state trail that follows the river. Naturally, I got insanely lost and had no idea what direction I was biking DESPITE the fact that there was a particularly large river to orient myself with. Regardless, various green ways and bike paths later, I made my way through the cities and to my warmshower host for the night. From Duluth, I road on nearly 100 miles of paved, off road bike trails. That's amazing.

So now I'm a west side boy, and I’m proud of that fact.

In other news, many Bingaholics have been pleading with me to give some scope to my biking. So here it is, using a system perfected by the Mongols as they conquered Asia and Europe. I call it: As the Moon, Does the Bike

• Phase I – This phase is my 4 month solo biking across the northern parts of the country. We can break it down into two main parts. Part 1 is my leaving Burlington, Vermont on May 3^rd and ends when I arrive in Boulder, Colorado. Part 1 will be more flat than hilly, and these two months are training for my legs. Part 2 starts from Boulder and ends in Portland, Oregon on September 7^th. Part 2 will see me cross the continental divide not once, not twice, not thrice, but FOUR times. I nickname this the “You Crazy Boy” Segment.
• Phase II – Upon arrival of my friend and touring partner, Chris, on September 8^th in Portland, we will travel south along the Pacific coast towards southern California, and then proceed to tour the southwest, slowly making our way towards Austin, Texas for the new year.
• Phase III – New Year, new friends. Joining the crew in Austin will be Brittany and Christine, and together we will tour somewhere in the south, depending on the weather. Not sure. But when Christine leaves us to return to Burlington, I know this phase ends and then begins..
• Phase IV – The Mystery Phase.

Also, as I will be staying with a friend in Boulder, you can send me mail now at anytime. I think I will cycle into Boulder around end of June-ish, so get those letters, packages, solid gold bars together and mail me at:

Ross Guberman

c/o Jamie Seiffer

3345 Chisholm Trail (#206)

Boulder, CO 80301

As always, check out my updated pics here: https://picasaweb.google.com/rossbikepics

Keep pedaling.